Housing Analytics Expert

Result of Service1) Value proposition Tenure Models for Affordable Housing with economic, social, and policy parameters of the affordable housing streams. 2) Affordable Housing Stakeholders/actors catalogue with gaps analysis and onboarding strategy in the delivery chains of all the PINUA streams. 3) National Affordable Housing Implementation Strategy tool for use in the Kenya Country Program Office to support PINUA. 4) Structured Framework for Social Housing Institutions. 5) A coherent housing and sustainable urban development strategy to support UN-Habitat’s new strategic plan. 6) Report containing the consultant’s processes and methods of training, performance evaluation of at least two young professional mentored, and each of the mentee’s feedback on the on-job experience gained. 7) Modelling of PINUA outcomes - Deliver all partners/cross boundary learning Exchange workshop demonstrating market segments responses , sustainability and scalability. Work LocationNairobi, Kenya Expected duration6 months Duties and ResponsibilitiesBackground and Context The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the United Nations agency for human settlements that is mandated by UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 11). UN-Habitat, through the Regional Office for Africa is collaborating with the EU for the development, implementation and scaling up of the Partnership for the Implementation of the New Urban Agenda (PINUA), a joint program among UN agencies to develop models and approaches for filling the gap in affordable housing in the context of Kenya. PINUA is targeting low-income communities living in the informal settlements and peri-urban areas, with the view of diversifying the houses stocks and supply in Kenya and looking into vulnerable group. PINUA has two major components: affordable housing and slum regeneration. The Government of Kenya (GoK) in August 2022 rolled out a plan to develop 500,000 homes from 2022-2027 to implement the constitutional requirements of “accessible and adequate housing, and to reasonable standards of sanitation” (Art. 43(b)). The housing plan was to deal with more than 60% of Kenyans living in inadequate housing. To achieve its plans, the government passed the Affordable Housing Act 2024 that introduced a 1.5% housing levy on income earners and equal matching contribution from employers. It established the Affordable Housing Board to manage the Housing Levy. The Act also highlights the role of the county governments. The segments of the housing excluded from formal supply and funding, have been providing housing for themselves despite the challenges including lack of titles (insecure tenure), lack of planning (informality), poor quality construction methods, poor quality construction materials, environmental degradation and impacts amongst others. They solve their housing problems through self-construction funded by small short-term loans from savings and borrowing. Objective In light of the above, the PINUA Programme is strategically situated to support the government in expansion of Social Housing through exploration of cooperative social rental housing models, management of low-income housing environments, exploration of models for development and management of social infrastructure and services, development of cottage production of eco-construction materials, and mentorship of young professionals and skilled labourers, among others in three proposed pilot sites in two counties; 2 in Kisumu and 1 in Nairobi that benefited from the GoK led World Bank funded KISIP I programme which came to a close in 2020 at the onset of COVID-19. This assignment within the Regional Office for Africa under the Kenya Country Programme and under the direct supervision of the Head of Kenya Programme, the consultant will be responsible for the following tasks but not limited to housing market ecosystem analysis ; stakeholder mapping and strategy to assess the actual and provide value proposition for the affordable housing models under PINUA, institutional framework for social housing & cooperative rental models as well as linking to National Affordable Housing Implementation Strategy for the Kenya Country Program Office and support production of normative work for UN-Habitat mission on housing and urban development. The consultant will be required to make reference to, support and where possible collaborate with the other PINUA consultants' outputs for better synergy. Duties and Responsibilities To achieve the above-mentioned goal, the assignment includes the following specific objectives: - i. Value Proposition for Affordable Housing Models: - Establish the economic, social, and policy benefits of different affordable housing tenure (ownership, rental, rent-to-own) and delivery (developer, owner-builder, cooperative) models. - Frame PINUA’s housing approach as a means to strengthen and support these models and their respective value chains. - Define the major bottlenecks and key success factors necessary for scaling these pilot initiatives. ii. Ecosystem Mapping & Stakeholder Engagement Strategy - Map stakeholders across Kenya’s affordable housing ecosystem for each PINUA housing stream. - Identify gaps and missing actors in housing delivery and financing. - Develop an engagement strategy to onboard critical partners and support decentralized housing delivery, unblocking barriers to scaling PINUA initiatives. iii. National Affordable Housing Implementation Strategy for the Kenya Country Program Office - Outline a roadmap for the KCP’s approach to housing. - Integrate government policies, private sector involvement, and financial mechanisms. - Provide recommendations on policy, design, and finance to ensure sustainable and scalable housing solutions in Kenya, leveraging PINUA’s expected contributions. iv. Institutional Framework for Social Housing & Cooperative Rental Models - Assess existing social housing institutions in Kenya and identify gaps in governance, finance, and delivery. - Recommend appropriate institutional arrangements for delivery of cooperative social rental and incremental housing. - Provide recommendations to the Government of Kenya on institutional structures that can enhance housing affordability, quality, and accessibility. - Define key partnerships necessary to support new housing delivery value chains (with an emphasis on cooperative social rental housing), ensuring alignment with national priorities. - Provide recommendations to the Government of Kenya on institutional structures that can enhance housing affordability, quality, and accessibility, aligned with government’s own institutional arrangements. v. Strategic Positioning for Housing and Basic Services as UN-HABITAT’s Core Mission - Align housing strategies with UN-Habitat’s core mission and global development goals. - Leverage previous UN-Habitat’s initiatives (e.g., PSUP, GLTN) to develop a coherent housing and sustainable urban development strategy in support of the organization’s new strategic mission. - Create advocacy materials and a roadmap to position housing as a key development pillar within UN-Habitat’s programs. vi. Provide structured mentorship to two young professionals or interns through the delivery of all the outputs. Qualifications/special skills- Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in Housing, architecture, civil engineering, urban and regional planning, economics or physical sciences relevant to development and management of human settlements or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree is required. - A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience in human settlements, project or programme management or related field is required. - At least two years working experience in housing or urban planning or slum upgrading within Africa is highly desirable. - Proven experience in human settlements development fields, projects/programme design and implementation with the UN or other international agencies is also desirable. LanguagesEnglish and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English (both oral and written) is required. Knowledge of local language is an added advantage. Additional InformationNot available. No FeeTHE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.